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You can install a few key items in your home in order to create more renewable energy sources. Some of these things you may already have seen around your own neighborhood. Others are a little more suited to living farther out in your community. Here are some of the ways that you can create renewable energy at your own home.
Solar Panels
Installing solar panels is one of the more common means for homeowners to become energy independent. There are even tax rebates that make this option more affordable for the average installation project. Look into using electrical contractors so that you can get the job done right.
Solar Shingles
A newer take on the solar panel solution is with solar shingle options. These shingles are more reflective in nature than the standard shingles. They function in a similar capacity as their solar panel counterparts. The only distinction is the appearance on your home.
Wind Turbine Possibilities
You may live in an area that would allow you to install a wind turbine system. In some areas of the country, windmill farms are common. This works better on slightly hilly terrain or other high wind areas. The power generated by these windmills can be used to power not only your home, but a whole city.
Geothermal Applications
The implications of geothermal power could revolutionize how you heat or cool your home. A pump is installed that will circulate the air temperature from the earth itself into your home. This works because the temperature in the earth is fairly consistent year round. The pumps also use less energy than standard pumping systems. This makes them more reliable and longer lasting.
Hydropower Generation
In some areas of the country, hydropower is more readily available. You don’t have to live next to a large river in order to harness some of the benefits of hydropower. A water wheel is another way that you can generate a little bit of extra electricity. Micro hydropower is a new take on this process. Groundwater can be used to aid in the generation of renewable energy.
You have to consider your geography as well as the climate to find a source of renewable energy that will provide the most benefit for your home. Investing in any one of these options may more than pay for itself over time. Do some research so that you can find the right home improvement project this summer for a more sustainable future.

German manufactuer Siemens have constructed off-shore wind turbines with record-breaking rotors. These enormous rotor blades are 75 meters long, which makes a single blade almost as big as the wingspan of an Airbus A380. All in all, the gigantic rotor measures 154 meters and covers about two and a half football fields.
Despite its size the rotor blade weighs 20% less than more conventionally produced blades. This is made possible because of Simenes patented technologies which uses special lightweight materials in its construction process. As you can see from the photo below the entire blade is made as a single piece of "glass fiber-reinforced epoxy resin and balsa wood". Besides making it lightweight, in relation to its size of course, these construction processes also makes the wind turbine extremely strong. And this is a good thing considering that they will be hit with the energy of around 200 tons of air per second out in the sea where these wind turbines are designed to be used. According to Siemens the tips of the 75 meter long blades will be able to move at up to 80 meters per second, or 290 km per hour.
The B75 blade is the world's largest fiberglass component cast in one piece.
So why are manufactures like Siemens trying to build bigger and bigger wind turbines? Well itâ€™s simple really. As the turbine blades get longer the amount of electricity they produce increases very rapidly. And because offshore wind projects are quite expensive it makes sense to build a fewer big wind turbines than lots of small ones.
A prototype 6-megawatt turbine will be erected at the Ã˜sterild test station in Denmark later this fall. And in a few years time, 300 of these huge wind turbines will be installed by the Danish energy supplier Dong just off the British coast.